Corbin Bleu hits a career milestone in ‘The Great Gatsby’ on Broadway

The High School Musical star has played Nick Carraway since late March, and he reflects on his co-stars, car breakdowns, and a personal record he’s happy to set.

Summary

• Corbin Bleu stars as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby on Broadway
• Bleu previously played the role in London's West End
• He discusses hitting a career milestone with Gatsby, performing the show with three different groups of co-stars, and a memorable onstage mishap

Corbin Bleu is jazzed about notching a career milestone as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby on Broadway. “I’ve been here since March,” he told New York Theatre Guide. “By the end of this run, this will be the longest show on Broadway that I’ve ever been a part of.”

The musical version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic 1925 novel, adapted by Kait Kerrigan (book), Jason Howland (music), and Nathan Tysen (lyrics), is Bleu’s fifth Broadway production since his 2010 debut in In the Heights. His other credits include Godspell, Holiday Inn, and Kiss Me, Kate.

Bleu previously played Nick, who narrates the story of a shadowy millionaire’s doomed pursuit of a former love, in London's West End last year before doing so in New York. The 37-year-old High School Musical movie star said his co-stars' impact on his Gatsby performance can’t be overstated. He's performed with three different groups of actors between the West End run, the beginning of his Broadway run, and now. (Fellow Disney alums Ryan McCartan and China Anne McClain joined as Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, along with Naturi Naughton-Lewis as Jordan Baker, over the summer.)

“Nick is a voyeur. Everything he does, he is dictated by the people around him,” Bleu said. “He gets pushed and pulled into where everyone else brings him. So I’ve had completely different experiences three times around now.”

Props and scenic elements have their own impact, too. Gazing into his rearview, Blue recalled a performance when a car — which is pivotal in a few scenes — broke down on stage, stopped the show, and necessitated improvising when they couldn't ride in it as scripted.

“I will never forget that as a performer, just walking on the stage, referencing the car off stage,” he said with a smile. “The show goes on. You make it work.”

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Gillian Russo contributed reporting to this story.

Photo credit: Corbin Bleu and the cast of The Great Gatsby on Broadway. (Photos by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)